Department for Transport

Great British Railways

Lord Berkeley: To ask His Majesty's Government what are the officialobjectives for the Great British Railways Transition Team; who directs its activities; how many staff it employs, including secondments; and how much funding it will receive in (1) the 2022–23, and (2) 2023–24, financial years.

Baroness Vere of Norbiton: GBRTT has been set up to design and mobilise the new guiding mind for the railway and create a simpler, better railway today through near-term improvements that benefit customers, communities and taxpayers. GBRTT’s activity is directed by their Board, chaired by Keith Williams CBE, tasked with overseeing delivery of priorities set by the Secretary of State for Transport. DfT’s future spending plans are under review following the 2022 Autumn Fiscal Statement.

Electric Vehicles: Charging Points

Baroness Kennedy of Cradley: To ask His Majesty's Government what recent assessment they have made ofthe roll out of electric car charging points on streets in England.

Baroness Vere of Norbiton: The Department for Transport monitors the progress of the installation of chargepoints and it publishes data, broken down to local authority areas, on a quarterly basis, the latest of which was published on 1st October 2022. The Government wants to ensure that the right chargepoints are installed in the right places. This spring we published our electric vehicle infrastructure strategy, which defines our vision for the continued roll-out of a world-leading network. In the strategy, the Government set out that it expected at least ten times more public chargepoints by the end of the decade, bringing the number to around 300,000 by 2030. The Local EV Infrastructure (LEVI) fund will support local authorities to work with industry and transform the availability of charging for drivers without off-street parking in England. In addition, the Department’s On-Street Residential Chargepoint Scheme is available to all UK local authorities to provide chargepoints for residents without access to private parking.

Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy

Parking: Solar Power

Baroness Randerson: To ask His Majesty's Government, in light of recent French legislation requiring car parks of 80 spaces or more to install solar panels within five years, whether similar UK legislation is being considered; if so, how such a scheme would be funded; and if it is not being considered, why not.

Lord Callanan: Solar power is a key part of the energy mix, and the Government will continue to support its deployment to meet energy security and net zero goals. The Government is pleased to see examples of solar installations in UK car parks such as in York, Glasgow and Leeds and is considering how to encourage more.

Advertising and Shops: Electricity

Baroness Bennett of Manor Castle: To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the level of electricity usage by digital advertising boards and shop signs in England; and what plans they have (1) to promote, or (2) to legislate for, switching off these boards during periods when the electricity system is under pressure.

Lord Callanan: The Government does not hold data on electricity usage by digital advertising boards and shop signs in England. National Grid has launched the electricity Demand Flexibility Service, a voluntary service to reward users who reduce their electricity demand at peak times. This is open to a variety of consumers, primarily through their supplier. The Government continues to work closely with industry to develop our response options for when the system is under pressure, and National Grid has standard, long-standing procedures in place in the extremely unlikely event of an emergency on the energy network.

Energy Bills Rebate: Northern Ireland

Lord Hay of Ballyore: To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they have taken to ensure that payments due to Northern Ireland consumers under the Energy Bills Support Scheme will be made before Christmas.

Lord Callanan: Households in Northern Ireland will receive a £400 discount on their energy bills through the Northern Ireland Energy Bills Support Scheme (NI EBSS) this winter. The Government is working intensively with electricity suppliers to deliver a solution and to provide the support as soon as possible.

Ports: Energy

Baroness Whitaker: To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer byLord Callanan on 8 November (HL2795), whether their plans to develop the Electricity Networks Strategic Framework for ports will include projects to use wave energy.

Lord Callanan: Wave energy technologies show promise but remain at a pre-commercial stage and cannot displace better established renewables in our energy mix. The Government monitors the situation and will consider how best to integrate wave with the Electricity Networks Strategic Framework.

Small Businesses: Billing

Lord Taylor of Warwick: To ask His Majesty's Government what assessmentthey have made of the impact on small businesses of early payment schemes.

Lord Callanan: The Government has not made an assessment of the impact on small businesses of early payment schemes.In July 2021, the Government published an independent review by Nigel Boardman into the development and use of Supply Chain Finance in government.The Small Business Commissioner, Liz Barclay, has drawn awareness to the potential benefits of how technology can play a key role in managing cashflow and accelerating payments to small suppliers.

Energy Charter Treaty

Baroness Sheehan: To ask His Majesty's Government what consideration they have given to their continuing participation in the Energy Charter Treaty in light of the recent withdrawals by other signatories.

Lord Callanan: The Government is closely monitoring the positions of other Contracting Parties to the Energy Charter Treaty and takes into account these positions in its own interaction with the modernisation process of the Energy Charter Treaty (ECT).

Alternative Fuel Payments

Lord Teverson: To ask His Majesty's Government what evidence they have to show that the £100 Alternative Fuel Payment provides equivalent support to off-grid customers as the Energy Price Guarantee.

Lord Callanan: The Government has doubled to £200 the level of support for households that use alternative fuels, such as heating oil, LPG, coal or biomass, to heat their homes. This support will be delivered as soon as possible this winter. This is in recognition of the cost-of-living pressures caused by these rising fuel costs.

Ministry of Justice

Prisoners: Ethnic Groups

Lord Bradley: To ask His Majesty's Government how many people are currently in prison aged (1) 18 to 24, and (2) 25 to 29, broken down by ethnicity.

Lord Bellamy: Relevant data are provided in the statistical publication Ethnicity and the Criminal Justice System. The most recent publication includes a snapshot of data for 30 June 2020. The relevant figures can be found in Table 6.01, which is reproduced in the attachment.Data for 30 June 2021 and 30 June 2022 will be included in the next publication, which is scheduled for November 2023.Table (xlsx, 29.2KB)

Alternatives to Prison: Parents

Lord Hylton: To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer byLord Bellamy on 21 November (HL3356), what plans they have to revise sentencing guidelines toindicate the importance of avoiding custodial sentences for parents of one or more small children, whenever this is practicable.

Lord Bellamy: The Sentencing Council is the independent body that has responsibility for the creation and amendment of sentencing guidelines. Accordingly, it decides on its own priorities and workplan. The noble Lord may wish to approach the Sentencing Council directly to share with them any concerns.

Prisoners: Self-harm

Baroness Fox of Buckley: To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the success of HMP Peterborough’s scheme to reduce self-harm incidents in their female prison; and whether such a scheme could be implemented across England and Wales.

Lord Bellamy: We welcome the work HMP Peterborough is doing to reduce self-harm amongst female prisoners. We continue to do everything we can to address self-harm across the estate. In 2020, we established a multi-disciplinary Women’s Self-Harm Taskforce to address the high levels of self-harm. The aim of the taskforce is to focus on work, research and interventions that improve prisoner outcomes. The taskforce is trialling and formally evaluating a range of initiatives for women in prison and will use the formal evaluations of the work at Peterborough, and the similar work across the women’s prison estate, to inform our approaches to reducing self-harm amongst female prisoners going forward.

Reoffenders: Sentencing

Lord Bradley: To ask His Majesty's Government how many (1) male, and (2) female, prisoners are currently in prison having been recalled, and are serving a custodial sentence of (a) less than 12 months, (b) between 12 months and two years, (c) between two and four years, (d) between four and five years, (e) between five and seven years, (f) between seven and 10 years, (g) between 10 and 14 years, and (h) 14 years or more.

Lord Bellamy: The answer is given in the table below. In order to protect the public, offenders on licence are liable to be recalled to prison at any time if they breach their licence conditions in such a way as to demonstrate increased risk, such that the risk may no longer be effectively managed in the community. Table 1: Recall prison population, by recorded sentence length(1) and sex, as at 30 Sep 2022; England & Wales TotalMaleFemaleTotal10,44810,053395Less than 12 months6806215912 months to less than 2 years911857542 years to less than 4 years2,2062,0911154 years to less than 5 years954914405 years to less than 7 years1,3151,281347 years to less than 10 years1,2471,2153210 years to less than 14 years6396271214 years or over2432394Other / Not Recorded(2)2,2532,20845NOTES(1) For recalled prisoners this should correspond with the original sentence length, but there may be cases for which this instead reflects the 'length of recall'(2) This includes those recalled from indeterminate sentences who do not have a recorded sentence length.Date Sources and QualityThe figures in these tables have been drawn from administrative IT systems which, as with any large scale recording system, are subject to possible errors with data entry and processing.Source: prison-NOMIS (ref. PQ HL3589)

Prisoners

Lord Bradley: To ask His Majesty's Government how many (1) people in total, and (2) foreign nationals, are currently in prison, broken down by offence category.

Lord Bellamy: The table below provides the information requested in relation to all prisoners in England and Wales, and to foreign nationals held in prison in England and Wales, by offence group as of 30 September 2022, the latest date for which information is available.Table (xlsx, 20.5KB)

Legal Profession: Voluntary Work

Lord Kennedy of Southwark: To ask His Majesty's Government whatassessment they have made of the value to (1) individuals, and (2) families, of pro bono legal work undertaken by lawyers.

Lord Bellamy: The Ministry of Justice has not specifically assessed the value of pro bono work to either family or individuals. However, research conducted by KPMG in 2017 indicates that the pro bono time dedicated by legal professionals was worth approximately £439 million in 2017. Additionally, the Bar Council suggest that 4,618 barristers have done pro bono work in the last year.The Government highly values the legal sector’s contributions through pro bono work and the benefits this work provides.

Women's Centres

Baroness Hodgson of Abinger: To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the Women in Prison reportThe value of Women's Centres, published in September.

Baroness Hodgson of Abinger: To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of whether investing in women’s centres (1) gives a good return on the investment, (2) offers better value and outcomes, and (3) reduces reoffending rates, by comparison with sending women to prison.

Baroness Hodgson of Abinger: To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of whethermore funding for women’s centres could be achieved by a cross departmental fund; and what plans they have, if any, to introduce such a fund.

Lord Bellamy: The Government understands the vital role that women’s centres play in supporting women in the community with complex needs to address the underlying causes of their offending behaviour, which the report, the Value of Women’s Centres’, sets out. The MoJ is investing up to £24 million in women’s community services through grant competitions that aim to both support the sector in delivering vital services and to promote better local integration in how those services are delivered. The effectiveness of our funding for women’s community services will be evaluated and inform future funding decisions, including whether to establish a cross departmental fund. It also remains our intention to publish a Delivery Plan for the Female Offender Strategy in the coming months. The Delivery Plan will be accompanied by an Impact Assessment that will include an estimate of the number of women that could be supported through women’s services as a result of our funding, based on the number of interventions that could be provided.

Prisoners' Release: Parole Board

Lord Bradley: To ask His Majesty's Government how many people serving an extended determinate sentence have been released from prison; and of those, how many were released after their first Parole Board hearing in each of the last five years.

Lord Bellamy: The table below sets out the number of releases of prisoners serving an extended determinate sentence (EDS) who are eligible for release via parole as part of their EDS in each of the last five years in which full data are available.Year of ReleaseTotal EDS First-Time ReleasesTotal EDS Releases at First Hearing2017143552018243116201935213720205062262021533220Data sources and quality:1. Some prisoners were released without accessing the parole process because they were deported or, exceptionally, left prison following early release on compassionate grounds2. Some parole hearings were not completed as a result of the prisoner receiving a new sentence or being transferred to secure hospital under the Mental Health Act 1983.3. Total figures in the table do not match published total releases for EDS offenders, as some EDS offenders are not eligible for release via parole as part of their EDS.4. The figures in this table have been drawn from administrative IT systems which, as with any large-scale recording system, are subject to possible errors with data entry and processing

Treasury

Tax Yields

Baroness Sherlock: To ask His Majesty's Government, relative to the caseload in financial year 2022–23, whatestimate they have madeof the additional tax revenue that will be raised from individuals who are both in employment and receiving benefits as a result of freezing the personal tax allowance inthe financial years (1) 2023–24, (2) 2024–25, (3) 2025–26, (4) 2026–27, and (5) 2027–8.

Baroness Penn: An estimate of the revenue raised from individuals who are both in employment and receiving benefits could only be answered at disproportionate cost. The estimated Exchequer impacts of changes to tax thresholds are set out in respective Policy Costing documents. Impacts of Autumn Statement 2022 policies can be found in the Autumn Statement 2022 Policy Costing document.

Public Expenditure

Lord Macpherson of Earl's Court: To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the answer of Lord Bates on 5 February 2018 (HL4939), whether they will publish an updated table including (1) pensions, (2) health, and (3) total managed expenditure, for 2021–22.

Baroness Penn: The requested information is in the table: 1978-791996-972009-102015-162016-172021-22(1) National insurance-funded pensions (£billion) (1)7.632.066.889.391.5104.5as a percentage of Total Managed Expenditure9.48%9.78%9.26%11.23%11.24%9.86%   (2) UK Health Expenditure (£billion) (2)7.842.8116.9138.5142.6216.8as a percentage of Total Managed Expenditure9.79%13.08%16.19%17.42%17.52%20.45%   Total Managed Expenditure (£billion) (3)79.7327.3721.9794.9813.81,060.3   Data Sources:(1) Figures up to 2016-17 taken from benefit expenditure and caseload tables published by the Department of Work and Pensions. The figure for 2021-22 taken from the DWP Annual Report and Accounts. Figures for National insurance-funded pensions have been provided in line with the request in the initial PQ referred to.(2) Data from 2009-10 onwards taken from table 4.2 of the Public Expenditure Statistical Analysis (PESA) 2022. Data for 1996-97 are as at PESA 2020. 1978-79 data taken from HoC Briefing Paper on NHS Funding and expenditure.(3) Data published by the Office for National Statistics consistent with PESA 2022.

Ministry of Defence

Ukraine: Guided Weapons

Lord Blencathra: To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the need to supply Ukraine with long-range weapons to neutralise missile sites inside Russia.

Baroness Goldie: We have provided Ukraine with military aid on the understanding that it will be used in accordance with international humanitarian law. We liaise on a daily basis with the Ukrainian Government, and they are clear that equipment provided by the UK is intended for the defence of Ukraine.

Type 26 Frigates

Lord West of Spithead: To ask His Majesty's Government, furtherto the Written Answer by Baroness Goldie on 17 November (HL3222), whether the delivery rate of Type 26 frigates to initial operating capability, after HMS Glasgow, will be once every 12 months.

Baroness Goldie: Initial Operating Capability (IOC) is only declared once for ship classes. The Type 26 Class's IOC is forecast to be October 2028.While delivery rates for the following hulls 2-8 may vary, all ships are expected to enter service between 2028 and 2035.

Ukraine: Military Aid

Lord Blencathra: To ask His Majesty's Government what plans they have to work with NATO allies to send all available winter warfare clothing to the Ukrainian military.

Baroness Goldie: On 9 November, we announced that the UK would provide Armed Forces of Ukraine recruits with extreme cold weather kits, including 25,000 sets of extreme cold weather clothing and 20,000 sleeping bags. The UK has been a leading advocate for the provision of winter equipment and has supported the delivery of tens of thousands of additional sets through the International Donors Coordination Cell.

Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

Forestry

Earl Cathcart: To ask His Majesty's Government whatconsideration they have given to creating a plan for both (1) new, and (2) existing, forests, and all tree species, that enables the UK forestry industry to (a) measure, and (b) value, carbon for owners, in order to (i) enhance and develop management of existing forestry, and (ii) encourage and incentivise the planting of new trees; and what assessment they have made of whether this could reduce the need for state support in the form of planting grants.

Lord Benyon: The Government recognises the need to unlock more private sector investment as set out in the 25 Year Environment Plan and HMG Green Finance Strategy. We have committed to raising at least £500 million in private finance every year by 2027 to support nature recovery in England, which will finance projects including woodland creation. The Government also supports the use of blended finance models to mobilise private investment alongside Government grants. This month, the Government launched the Big Nature Impact Fund which blends Defra grants with private investment finance for nature-based projects selling ecosystem services, including woodland creation and peatland restoration. The Government supported the development of the Woodland Carbon Code, launched in 2011, to create a mechanism to allow landowners to sell woodland carbon. A total of 1,640 projects were registered under the Woodland Carbon Code across the UK by the end of June 2022, covering around 61 thousand hectares of woodland and projected to sequester 19.3 million tonnes of carbon dioxide over their lifetime. The Code provides a project and carbon registry, as well as carbon projection tools and protocols for measuring carbon in all types of woodland. In March 2022, the UK Emissions Trading Scheme Authority published a call for evidence on the role of the UK Emissions Trading Scheme as a potential long-term market for both engineered and nature-based greenhouse gas removals. The call for evidence included questions regarding what impacts or opportunities this might present for the Woodland Carbon Code. The UK Emissions Trading Scheme Authority will publish a response in due course.

Timber: Construction

Earl Cathcart: To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the finding in the Forestry Commission report Sustainable construction timber: sourcing and specifying local timber, published in 2016, that “timber-framed construction currently accounts for 75 per cent of new housing in Scotland, while the comparable figure for the UK as a whole is 25 per cent”; and what steps they intend to take in response.

Lord Benyon: No such assessment has been made.The Net Zero Strategy and England Trees Action Plan committed to increase the use of timber in construction, and we encourage the use of timber in construction when safe to do so, as it can reduce the embodied carbon of a building. In the England Trees Action Plan, we committed to supporting timber in construction by providing up to £1.5m of support to develop innovative timber products through the Forestry Innovation Fund. We are also working to increase public demand for sustainably sourced domestic timber through timber procurement policies and encouraging research into barriers to uptake of timber, including looking at timber strength grades and the fire resistance of engineered timber structures.

Biodiversity: Wind Power

Baroness Jones of Whitchurch: To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the effect of offshore wind farms on marine biodiversity.

Lord Benyon: Offshore wind developments have the potential to cause environmental damage. The main impacts are to seabirds (from collisions, displacement, and foraging pressures), to the seabed from cabling, and to certain cetaceans from construction noise. In the British Energy Security Strategy, the Government committed to an Offshore Wind Environmental Improvement Package (OWEIP). This will deliver several measures to support the accelerated deployment of offshore wind developments while protecting and enhancing the marine environment. These measures include; reforms to Habitats Regulations Assessments for offshore wind, establishing a Marine Recovery Fund to deliver strategic compensation, delivering Offshore Wind Environmental Standards which will include standards for underwater noise, and agreeing a new approach to monitoring in order to increase our understanding of potential impacts of offshore wind on the marine environment.

Avian Influenza: Vaccination

Baroness McIntosh of Pickering: To ask His Majesty's Government what representations they have made to the Director General of Environment in the European Commission about the creation of a common approach to the treatment of migratory birds in order to reduce avian influenza rates in the UK.

Lord Benyon: Defra’s approach to avian influenza is set out in the Notifiable Avian Disease Control Strategy for Great Britain supported by the Mitigation Strategy for Avian Influenza in Wild Birds in England and Wales. The UK Government recognises the significant threat posed by highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI), but there are limited effective actions that can be taken to control avian influenza in migratory wild birds as opposed to poultry and other captive bird flocks.  We will however continue to take and recommend whatever actions we can, in accordance with international best practice and the latest evidence.  International collaboration and knowledge exchange is facilitated through discussions between the UK Chief Veterinary Officer and her counterparts in the EU and globally through the World Organisation for Animal Health. At the international level, the Animal and Plant Health Agency (APHA) virologists and epidemiologists collaborate with colleagues in Europe and around the world to closely analyse viruses involved in outbreaks in both poultry and other captive birds and those found in wild birds, with the aim of understanding what makes these viruses different and how they might change in the future. The UK National Reference Laboratory remains informally connected to colleagues in EU laboratories, including the EU Reference Laboratory, and continue to share and gather intelligence. The UK’s membership of the OSPAR-HELCOM-ICES Joint Working Group on Birds and the African Eurasian Waterbird Agreement are also key forums for improving collaboration, monitoring and information sharing on avian influenza in migratory birds.

Marine Protected Areas: Fisheries

Baroness Jones of Whitchurch: To ask His Majesty's Government what plans they have, if any, to allow fishing to take place in highly protected marine areas.

Lord Benyon: Highly Protected Marine Areas (HPMAs) would prohibit extractive, destructive and depositional uses and this would include all commercial and recreational fisheries. Defra’s 12-week consultation for five candidate HPMAs in English Waters closed in September. Defra officials are analysing all the responses to our consultation and will shortly publish a summary of these responses. Any pilot HPMAs will be designated by 6 July 2023. The Marine and Coastal Access Act states any designation order must be within a year of the consultation starting which is 6 July 2023.

Eggs: Marketing

Baroness Redfern: To ask His Majesty's Government what plans they have to review the 16 week protection period for the marketing of free range eggs on occasions when mandatory housing measures are imposed for poultry and other captive birds.

Lord Benyon: Egg Marketing Standards provides a 16-week derogation period during which the free-range description can be retained on eggs even if hens have been housed.Defra currently has no plans to review this derogation period. However, in recognition of the pressures the egg sector is currently facing, particularly rising input costs alongside the impacts of Avian Influenza, Defra has granted a concession which will apply if the housing orders that are currently in place in England exceed the 16 week derogation period. This concession will allow producers and packers, on a one-off basis, the option to use either direct print to pack or an affixed label on free-range boxes. Accompanying clear and transparent point of sale signage should also be in place to ensure consumers are not misled and to avoid undermining consumer confidence in the free-range industry.

Marine Protected Areas: Carbon Emissions

Baroness Jones of Whitchurch: To ask His Majesty's Government what plans they have, if any, to expand seagrass and seaweed marine protected sites to contribute to the UK’s net zero carbon target.

Lord Benyon: The UK recognises the important role that nature-based solutions, including blue carbon habitats such as seagrass can play in preventing biodiversity loss and in supporting healthy ecosystems and adaptation to climate change. Although set up primarily to conserve marine biodiversity, some features of the UK’s network of Marine Protected Areas (MPA) can also provide climate change mitigation, adaptation and resilience benefits. The MPA network already contains the majority of saltmarsh and seagrass habitats in the UK and our focus is now on ensuring these areas are effectively protected. In addition, Natural England is leading a four-year £2.5 million EU-funded LIFE Recreation ReMEDIES project running to October 2023, which aims to restore seagrass and maerl habitat in five Special Areas of Conservation and the Environment Agency’s Restoring Meadow, Marsh and Reef (ReMeMaRe) initiative is working to restore our estuarine and coastal habitats to benefit people and nature. The EA’s restoration handbooks are a key tool to support restoration of coastal blue carbon habitats, including seagrass, in the UK and beyond. Furthermore, in April 2022, the UK Government launched its £140 million Natural Capital and Ecosystem Assessment (NCEA) programme, a flagship three-year R&D programme, spanning England’s land, coast and sea. Part of the marine arm of the programme is monitoring and mapping carbon storage and cycling capacity across coastal and sea ecosystems, including seagrass, kelp and the seabed, to inform better management of our natural carbon sinks and sources for climate change mitigation.

Biofuels: Aviation

Baroness Scott of Needham Market: To ask His Majesty's Government what plans they have (1) to regulate, and (2) to supervise, farmers to ensure that no products from economically viable land, that would otherwise be used for food, are used as feedstocks for sustainable aviation fuels.

Lord Benyon: As set out in July, in the Government Response to the consultation "Mandating the use of sustainable aviation fuels in the UK", to count towards and be eligible for reward under any UK mandate for sustainable aviation fuels (SAF), SAF must not be produced from food or feed crops.While growing crops for the biofuel sector offers farmers more routes to market for their harvest and flexibility in their crop rotations, consideration must also be given to land biodiversity or carbon-store value.HM Government’s Food Strategy aims to broadly maintain the current level of food that we produce domestically and to boost production in sectors where there are the biggest opportunities. We announced in the Food Strategy the intention to publish a Land Use Framework for England in 2023, which will set out land-use change principles to ensure food production is balanced alongside climate, environment and infrastructure outcomes.

Avian Influenza: Disease Control

Baroness Redfern: To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the imposition of mandatory housing measures for poultry and other captive birds on 7 November, what plans they have, if any, to take further measures to restrict the spread of avian influenza.

Lord Benyon: The prevention measures introduced through the Avian Influenza Prevention Zones, including addition of mandatory housing measures and changes to bird gatherings general licence, are introduced in a phased and escalating manner proportionate to the escalating risk to an area and may be introduced on a regional or national basis depending on the epidemiological situation.We continue to monitor the current situation both in Europe and globally, as well as the effectiveness of any disease control measures taken. Any future decisions on disease control measures will be based upon the latest scientific, ornithological, and veterinary advice.

Avian Influenza: Vaccination

Baroness McIntosh of Pickering: To ask His Majesty's Government what progress they have made in the development of a vaccine for domestic birds against avian influenza; and what assessment they have made of the entrance of vaccinated birds into the food chain.

Lord Benyon: Defra continues to invest in avian influenza research and monitors the situation in Europe and globally. In conjunction with the Veterinary Medicines Directorate (VMD), Defra will continue to monitor the development and availability of vaccines for use to protect against avian influenza and as a control measure during avian influenza outbreaks, as they are put forward for marketing authorisation by vaccine manufacturers. Currently, outside of zoos in England, the vaccination of birds as a routine preventative measure is not permitted. Therefore, there are no vaccinated birds entering the food chain. Any future decisions on disease prevention and control measures, including the use of vaccination, will be based upon the latest scientific, ornithological, and veterinary advice. Any proposed changes in the use of vaccination will be subject to risk assessments including in conjunction with the Food Standards Agency, assessments of their safety in the food chain.

Avian Influenza

Baroness McIntosh of Pickering: To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they plan to take to encourage the restocking of domestic birds following the outbreak of avian influenza.

Lord Benyon: When avian influenza is confirmed at a premises, in order to limit the risk of the disease spreading, all birds on the premises are humanely culled. Keepers will be paid compensation for clinically healthy birds culled by government for disease control purposes as set out in the Animal Health Act 1981. Following the completion of culling and disposal, the Animal and Plant Health Agency (APHA) will carry out preliminary cleansing and disinfection (C&D) at the premises. The costs for culling, disposal and the preliminary C&D are paid by government. Before a premises can be restocked the keeper will either need to undertake secondary C&D at their own expense or wait 12 months from the date of preliminary C&D.Whether to undertake secondary C&D and how quickly the process is completed, and therefore when restocking and business activity can resume is a commercial decision by the keeper. APHA will work with the bird keeper to explain the requirements and monitor the effectiveness of C&D.

Seasonal Agricultural Workers' Scheme

The Lord Bishop of Southwark: To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the effectiveness of the seasonal workers’ scheme.

Lord Benyon: The Seasonal Worker visa route was specifically designed to support the horticulture sector in the United Kingdom where growers typically require higher volumes of labour, for relatively short-term periods of time, in line with seasonal production peaks.As announced on 24 December 2021, the Seasonal Worker visa route will continue to operate until at least the end of 2024. A total of 40,000 visas are available in 2022, of which 38,000 were for horticulture with the remaining 2,000 allocated to poultry workers in the run up to Christmas. HM Government is carefully considering the position on visa quotas for 2023 and we will say more in due course.HM Government closely monitors the Seasonal Worker visa route to ensure its effective operation, and works closely with industry to make sure that the workforce requirements for the food and farming sector are understood across government.

Home Office

Wagner Group: Sanctions

Lord Marlesford: To ask His Majesty's Government what plans they have to permanently exclude any person who is identified as (1) being, or (2) having been, a member of the Russian Wagner Group from entry to the UK.

Lord Sharpe of Epsom: The Home Office does not comment on individual cases.Travel bans restrict the movement of identified individuals associated with regimes or groups whose behaviour is considered unacceptable by the international community. A person who is the subject of a travel ban is an excluded person under section 8B of the Immigration Act 1971 and cannot lawfully enter or remain in the UK.The Home Secretary can exclude a foreign national, where it is conducive to the public good. The Immigration Rules also provide for the refusal of entry clearance or permission to enter at the border if a person’s presence in the UK is not conducive to the public good because of their conduct, character, associations or other reasons.

Undocumented Migrants: Northern Ireland

Baroness Hoey: To ask His Majesty's Government what plans they have, if any,to prevent migrants coming to the UK illegally by travellingfrom the Republic of Ireland and then to mainland Great Britain.

Baroness Hoey: To ask His Majesty's Government what discussions they have held with the government of Ireland concerning the number of illegal migrants who have travelled via ferry from France to Dublin, and then travelled by bus to Northern Ireland followed by travel by ferry to Great Britain; and in any such discussions, whether the number of migrants taking this route in each of the last two years was confirmed and, if so, what is this number.

Lord Murray of Blidworth: There is a high level of cooperation on border security between both the UK and Irish Governments to ensure we are taking all the necessary measures to protect and secure the Common Travel Area (CTA).As now, there will be no routine immigration controls on CTA journeys and none whatsoever on the land border between Ireland and Northern Ireland.However, intelligence-led operations to target potential abuse of CTA routes continues. Anyone identified attempting to circumvent UK border controls is liable to be removed, if they are not lawfully present in the UK.

Asylum: Offshoring

Lord Hylton: To ask His Majesty's Government what is their assessment of the results of existing initiatives to deter irregular Channel crossings; and in any such assessment, what consideration they have given to alternative approaches whereby potential asylum seekers have their asylum applications considered before arrival in the UK.

Lord Murray of Blidworth: The UK has a proud record of providing protection for people who need it, in accordance with our obligations under the Refugee Convention and the European Convention on Human Rights. Our work to deter and stop irregular Channel crossings is dependent on a range of interventions, and the cumulative impact of these. There is no single silver bullet and seeing impact overall will take time. We carefully monitor impact, including through regularly published migration statisticsWhilst we sympathise with people in many difficult situations around the world, we are not bound to consider asylum claims from the very large numbers of people overseas who might like to come here. The UK provides safe and legal routes through the UK Resettlement Scheme (UKRS), Mandate Resettlement Scheme, Community Sponsorship and the Afghan Citizens’ Resettlement Scheme. Following the Ukraine crisis, we also introduced the Ukraine Family Scheme (UFS), and the Homes for Ukraine (HFU) Scheme. We also have additional safe and legal routes for people to come to the UK should they wish to join family members here, work or study. This commitment, alongside a fair and firm asylum system, will ensure we continue to offer safe and legal routes to the UK for those in need of protection. Our focus will remain on helping individuals directly from regions of conflict and instability.

Asylum: Translation Services

Lord Roberts of Llandudno: To ask His Majesty's Government whattranslation facilities are available at asylum interviews.

Lord Murray of Blidworth: The Home Office will provide an interpreter at public expense whenever necessary. Interpreters are required to interpret to a high standard on a range of protection based and human rights topics including, though not limited to, religious conversion, Female Genital Mutilation (FGM), sexuality-and gender-based claims, all types and forms of persecution, medical (physical and mental health) and political activity.

Asylum

Lord Roberts of Llandudno: To ask His Majesty's Government whattraining is given to Asylum Decision Makers.

Lord Murray of Blidworth: Asylum Operations remain committed to the training and upskilling of our staff. It can take up to 12 months for a decision maker to become fully proficient in all areas of their work. We have a comprehensive training programme and mentoring framework in place to support this delivered by a dedicated team of senior grade trainers and higher-grade technical experts. This helps with maintaining case-working expertise and improving decision-maker capability as part of our plan for a highly skilled workforce.During the first 9 weeks of a decision-maker being in post, there is a mixture of classroom based and on the job coaching that is a foundation for ongoing learning and coaching.Once the decision maker fully moves into the live operational environment and throughout their development period, they work within a mentoring framework and receive the support of Team Leaders, Technical Specialists and consolidators (experienced decision makers who are assigned to support new starters) as they grow their skills and to ensure quality is maintained.Alongside the foundation training programme, a range of other bespoke and more specialist technical training is available to decision makers.Recently a comprehensive Training Plan on the provisions introduced by the Nationality and Borders Act 2022 was developed. A one-day training package was rolled out to all Decision Makers from Legacy, Flow, and Children and Secondary Casework units.

Asylum

Lord Roberts of Llandudno: To ask His Majesty's Government what qualifications are required to be appointed as an Asylum Decision Maker.

Lord Murray of Blidworth: We recruit using standard Civil Service recruitment processes and all our asylum decision makers must meet minimum Civil Service recruitment standards. Once appointed the Home Office offers a comprehensive training programme and mentoring framework for decision makers.Information about the asylum decision-maker role is available online to potential candidates on Home Office Jobs under Asylum and Protection, Role Overview.

Asylum: Applications

Lord Roberts of Llandudno: To ask His Majesty's Government how many Asylum Decision Makers interviewed asylum applicants in each of the last five years.

Lord Murray of Blidworth: We do not hold data about the number of decision makers who conduct asylum interviews at any given time, but this is a core function of an asylum decision maker. Links to the number of asylum decision makers from 2010/11 – 2021/22 can be found at Immigration and protection data: Q2 2022 - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk) in the ASY_04 tab.

Undocumented Migrants: English Channel

Lord Hylton: To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the report by the Public and Commercial Services Union and Care4CalaisSafe passage for refugees: humane alternative to the Rwanda policy, published on 16 November; and in particular their proposal for a visa system designed to prevent crossings in small boats across the English channel.

Lord Murray of Blidworth: The UK has a proud record of providing protection for people who need it, in accordance with our obligations under the Refugee Convention and the European Convention on Human Rights. However, there is no provision within our Immigration Rules for someone to be allowed to travel to the UK to seek asylum or temporary refuge, as proposed in the report by the Public and Commercial Services Union and Care4Calais.The UK provides safe and legal routes through the UK Resettlement Scheme (UKRS), Mandate Resettlement Scheme, Community Sponsorship and the Afghan Citizens’ Resettlement Scheme. Following the Ukraine crisis, we also introduced the Ukraine Family Scheme (UFS), and the Homes for Ukraine (HFU) Scheme. We also have additional safe and legal routes for people to come to the UK should they wish to join family members here, work or study. This commitment, alongside a fair and firm asylum system, will ensure we continue to offer safe and legal routes to the UK for those in need of protection. Our focus will remain on helping individuals directly from regions of conflict and instability.

Healthcare Assistants: Migrant Workers

Baroness Thomas of Winchester: To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the shortage of health care assistants for working age disabled people; and to address any such shortage, what plans they have (1) to review the criteria for the sponsorship of overseas workers, and (2) to adjust the criteria so that disabled people are able to directly employ personal carers.

Lord Murray of Blidworth: Following a recommendation by the independent Migration Advisory Committee in their most recent annual report, the Government has made care worker, care assistant and home care worker roles (Standard Occupation Classification code 6145) eligible for the Health and Social Care Visa and added them to the Shortage Occupation List.However, the sponsorship system is designed to strike the balance between enabling UK employers to recruit overseas workers, while ensuring employers only sponsor workers who are eligible for visas, that those they do sponsor will comply with the conditions of their visa and that the safety and wellbeing of those workers is safeguarded. This approach ensures the integrity of the immigration system and provides important safeguards for those who migrate to the UK and for individuals requiring care.The Government has no plans change this position.

Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities

Right to Buy Scheme: Disability

Baroness Bennett of Manor Castle: To ask His Majesty's Government how many homes which were adapted for disabled users have been sold under the right to buy programme in the last 20 years; and what was the rate of replacement of these homes, either by (1) construction, or (2) adaptation.

Baroness Scott of Bybrook: The Government does not collect statistics on this particular area.

Medical Equipment: Power Failures

Baroness Bennett of Manor Castle: To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they plan to take to support local councils in the protection of individuals who are dependent on life-critical support machines during power blackouts.

Baroness Scott of Bybrook: I refer the Noble Baroness to the answer to Question UIN 77488 (attached) on 11 November 2022. UIN 77488 (pdf, 85.1KB)

Department for International Trade

Trade Agreements: Australia

Baroness Jones of Whitchurch: To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the remarks by the former Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, the Rt Hon George Eustice MP, on 14 November (HC Deb, cols 424–6), what plans they have, if any, to review the terms of the trade agreement with the government of Australia.

Lord Johnson of Lainston: The UK-Australia Free Trade Agreement gives British companies unprecedented access to the Australian market. It is expected to increase trade with Australia by 53% and grow our economy by up to £2.3 billion in the long-run. The Government is taking the necessary steps to bring this agreement into force as soon as possible so businesses can reap the many benefits. The Trade (Australia and New Zealand) Bill is currently proceeding through Parliament.

Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport

Shrubland Hall: Conservation

Lord Marlesford: To ask His Majesty's Government what progress they have made regarding the conservation of Shrubland Hall in Suffolk, including ensuring that the listed structures are intact, since that property was put on the Heritage at Risk Register by Historic England in November 2021.

Lord Parkinson of Whitley Bay: Shrubland Hall, associated structures and parkland remain on Historic England’s Heritage at Risk Register. Historic England is continuing to work with the owners and the local authority, with the ambition of improving the condition of the buildings and parkland and putting in place appropriate conservation management planning, so that the site can be removed from the Register in due course.

Women and Equalities

Guide Dogs

Baroness Bennett of Manor Castle: To ask His Majesty's Government what plans they have to educate the public about the legal status of guide dogs for the blind and other assistance dogs; and what steps they plan to take to penalise businesses which have failed to educate their staff about their legal status.

Baroness Stedman-Scott: The Equality Act 2010 (the Act) provides for protection of disabled people, including those needing assistance dogs, in employment and the supply of goods, services, public functions and in clubs and associations. It does not have universal application to the public, or in other settings, and general public education campaigns about it would not be proportionate. However, the Government runs under contract the Equality Advisory and Support Service (EASS), an equalities and human rights helpline, which receives about 35,000 customer contacts a year, more than 60% of which concern disability issues. The EASS can intervene directly with or assist the complainant to take the problem up with the relevant service provider in many cases, including those involving assistance dogs.It is the responsibility of all businesses to ensure that they are aware of their obligations to their customers and employees under the Act. To help them in this, Government and relevant independent bodies offer a range of technical guidance and statutory codes of practice that clearly explain what businesses should and should not do to ensure that their conduct is lawful and not discriminatory.The Act places a duty on businesses and service providers to make reasonable adjustments to improve disabled people’s access to goods and services so they are not placed at a substantial disadvantage compared to non-disabled people. This reasonable adjustment duty is an anticipatory duty therefore those who provide goods, facilities and services to members of the public are expected to anticipate the reasonable adjustments that disabled customers may require, including auxiliary aids.The Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) is the public body responsible for enforcing the Act. In 2017, the EHRC published two pieces of guidance - a guide to help businesses understand what they can do to meet their legal duties to assistance dog owners, and a guide to help tourism businesses welcome people with access requirements. The EHRC supports disabled individuals who have experienced discrimination to take their cases to court.In recent years, case law has strengthened the equalities law for people with assistance dogs. There have been a number of significant cases brought under the Equality Act involving assistance dogs, which have been successfully litigated, for example, Bloch v Kassim (assistance dogs in taxis); Clutton and Williams v Pen-y-Bryn Group (assistance dogs in restaurants); and McCafferty v Miah (assistance dogs in shops).